Players from the length and breadth of the county descended on Letterkenny’s Radisson Blu Hotel at the weekend for the annual county pool championships.
On Friday evening it was the young and not-so-young who battled it out in the Under-23s and Over-40s events. Ballybofey’s Darragh Gallagher – not yet 15 – once again showcased his precocious talents with some superb displays; not least his 7-2 victory in the final against Daniel McHugh.
A very impressive turnout of thirty players competed in the over-40s competition. As the dust settled – and the arthritis started kicking in – it was Letterkenny’s Gareth Kirwan (pictured above) who took the honours, defeating Culdaff’s Damien McFeely in the final on a scoreline of 9 frames to 7.
Gareth wasn’t done there, though. On the Saturday, the 2023 men’s champion played a pivotal role in the Team Event. His team – Moore Metal Fabrication – were unbeaten throughout the group stages and defeated the Top Ten Club (which McFeely was also a member of) in a high quality final.
A massive twenty-six teams competed in Saturday’s two events. In the B final, Doherty’s Bar, Ardara, edged out McGuigan’s, Stranorlar, in a tense final encounter that could have gone either way.
And so to Sunday, and the battles to be crowned Donegal’s best male and female players for the next year. That man, Damien McFeely, was again to the fore. He dropped precious few frames as he progressed through to the final. Donegal town native (and former finalist), Matthew Mahon, proved to be his most formidable opponent. Indeed, Damien had to dig deep to turn a 6-4 deficit into a memorable 9-6 victory for the Inishowen man, as he became only the fifth player to ever hold the title.
In the ladies’ event, there were a number of new faces making their debut. But, come the end, it was a case of “as you were”, with the peerless Helena Melly once again taking the honours, despite a very valiant effort from Annette Pearson.
